Legal Writing

365 ABA Journal Legal Writing articles.

Law and politics comingle in DC insider’s memoir

After decades as a legal insider and observer of some of the most consequential moments in modern U.S. history, James Hamilton retired from law and picked up his pen. In his new memoir, Advocate, Hamilton shares fascinating tales of the power brokers and politicians who helped steer the course of the country.

Mar 28, 2023 1:04 PM CDT

How Casetext utilized the latest GPT technology to create an AI legal assistant

The CEO and co-founder of Casetext talks about its AI legal assistant CoCounsel, as well as the potential of advanced chatbots to change the legal industry.

Mar 22, 2023 8:35 AM CDT

In ‘Her Honor,’ trailblazing women judges take center stage

When Lauren Stiller Rikleen was approached in 2020 by the ABA Judicial Division to help compile autobiographical stories from women judges in America, a powerful motivating factor for her was to capture stories of the barriers that the judges overcame in their words.

Mar 8, 2023 9:07 AM CST

Can ChatGPT help law students learn to write better?

ChatGPT, an artificial intelligence chatbot that can speak and write like humans, can be weak on facts but may already be a better wordsmith than some attorneys, according to David Kemp, an adjunct professor at Rutgers Law School.

Mar 6, 2023 8:38 AM CST

SCOTUSblog founder gives up Supreme Court practice at 52, cites difficulty fighting for ‘the little guy’

SCOTUSblog founder Tom Goldstein is retiring from his U.S. Supreme Court practice and his law firm, citing the increasingly conservative balance of the court as one of the reasons.

Mar 2, 2023 9:32 AM CST

Even Death Can Be Political: An interview with forensic pathologist Michael Baden

It was May 29, 2020. Michael Baden, like most Americans, was holed up at home. For days, he had seen images on television of a lifeless George Floyd, his neck pinned to the ground by the knee of a Minneapolis police officer.

Feb 23, 2023 12:05 PM CST

In ‘Myth America,’ historians challenge misinformation about our past

Some American patriotic myths are harmless; George Washington may have chopped down a cherry tree at some point in his life, but the popular story told to children where young George fesses up to the deed by saying "I cannot tell a lie" is made up from whole cloth. However, there are much more pernicious lies and misinformation circulated about our past as a country, and that misinformation is used for political ends.

Feb 22, 2023 8:48 AM CST

Bestselling author relished collaboration for ‘Heat’ follow-up

In 2022, Heat 2 debuted at the top of the New York Times’ bestseller list, showing that there is still a strong appetite for stories about a ruthless bank robber and a high-octane cop.

Feb 8, 2023 8:35 AM CST

How the US influenced the creation of Nazi race laws under Hitler

Adolf Hitler and his Nazi followers in the 1930s fashioned race laws that were designed to degrade and deprive Jewish people of all rights. At the same time, American laws often enshrined white supremacy and discriminated against non-whites, and Black Americans in particular were treated as second-class citizens.

Feb 7, 2023 8:42 AM CST

How to frame a legal issue: Part II

A great boon to clarity results from rejecting the four traditional dogmas about framing a legal issue.

Feb 1, 2023 2:00 AM CST

Federal judge bans potentially inflammatory words, such as ‘yahoos’ and ‘fake news’

Lawyers in a case in the Eastern District of Texas can’t refer to jurors, the court or the jury pool as “yahoos” or by other similar, derogatory references, according to a motion granted by a federal judge last month.

Jan 30, 2023 3:03 PM CST

From Amanda Knox to Kyle Rittenhouse, lawyer discusses justice and due process in the digital age

In Anne Bremner’s work as a Seattle-based trial attorney, she saw a disturbing pattern—that high-profile cases often trending on Twitter challenge the concept “innocent until proven guilty,” as cases are tried online, as well as in courtroom proceedings.

Jan 25, 2023 9:04 AM CST

Lawyer digs into big data for new legal thriller ‘Code 6’

“Code 6” follows an aspiring playwright, as she tries to make sense of her mother’s suicide and put on a play about big data while working for her father.

Jan 4, 2023 8:44 AM CST

Listen to our 10 favorite podcast episodes of 2022

Looking for a new listen? We've picked our favorite 2022 episodes from each of the ABA Journal's three podcasts. And if this whets your appetite, find more than 10 years of past episodes on our podcast page. You can also check out more legal podcasts from our partners at Legal Talk Network.

Dec 23, 2022 8:42 AM CST

Bryan Garner’s 2022 legal writing tips

This year, Bryan Garner gave us a new game for word lovers, a hypothesis on hyphens and four principles of legal writing that he learned as a clerk in the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals at New Orleans. Here's the full wrap-up of 2022 columns by the Black's Law Dictionary's editor-in-chief.

Dec 22, 2022 8:34 AM CST

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